Bugging Out: Why Americans are giving up citizenship in record numbers

Some of you are considering a pre-collapse Bug Out or a Bug Out just as the collapse appears to be unfolding and heading out of this country. Many people are doing it now to avoid taxes. Consider this article if you are going to do so in order to save money and position yourself in a better position to ride out or survive the collapse.

The prospect of mogul Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office has driven celebrities and common folk alike to contemplate moving to Canada — or any other country that is not America. Actress Lena Dunham is interested. Samuel L. Jackson is considering South Africa. Jon Stewart wants to leave the entire planet. Google reported a spike in searches for “move to Canada” after the Donald swept the Super Tuesday primaries in March.

And indeed, government statistics show record numbers of people are renouncing their U.S. citizenship. But it’s not Trump that has persuaded them to go. It’s taxes.

The IRS publishes the names of each American who gives up his or her citizenship. The list comes out every three months, and international tax lawyer Andrew Mitchel has tallied them up. In the first quarter of this year, 1,158 people expatriated — more than 10 times the number in the first quarter of 2008, when Mitchel began his count. Last year, a record 4,279 people renounced their citizenship.

Expatriation's have grown steadily since 2008 but began to spike in 2013. That timing undermines the theory that Trump is responsible. (Back then, he was busy suing talk-show host and comedian Bill Maher for calling him the spawn of an orangutan.) But the increase dovetails with the implementation of new federal reporting requirements and penalties for assets held overseas by U.S. citizens.

The rules were passed back in 2010 as part of legislation intended to encourage businesses to hire more employees and jump-start the nation’s economic recovery. Attached to the law was a provision called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) that was supposed to “detect, deter and discourage” tax evasion through offshore bank accounts.

The law requires foreign banks to report whether their clients are U.S. citizens. The penalty for not complying is stiff: a 30 percent withholding from the proceeds of the bank's financial transactions in the United States. That has caused plenty of consternation among foreign firms, some of which have reportedly closed accounts belonging to Americans as a result.

The regulations also created new filing requirements for individuals with assets overseas and increased the fines for missing a form. The penalty for failing to file is $10,000 per form. The consequences are even steeper for intentionally not filing a document known as the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, which could result in a fine of $100,000 or 50 percent of what’s in the bank account — whichever is greater.

“They’re like, 'Oh my, God, the IRS is going to bankrupt me,'” Mitchel said of his clients. “People get terrified of this, and they don’t want to have anything to do with the IRS, and then they want to renounce.”

Mitchel said that many of his clients have been paying taxes in the country where they live now and may not have bothered filing a U.S. return. Most countries in the world expect you to pay taxes only when you live inside their borders. But two nations — the United States and Eritrea — require its citizens to pay taxes on income while living in other countries. And Mitchel said it’s not just the very wealthy who are chafing under the new regulations. Many of his clients are moderate-income households and retirees living overseas who find navigating the morass of requirements more trouble than it is worth.

Mitchel described one client who plans to retire soon in Australia, where he will not have to pay any taxes on the pension he has built up after 20 years of work there. But under U.S. tax law, he would be required to file a return and pony up to Uncle Sam.

“It’s a very straightforward financial question: Is his U.S. citizenship worth hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars?” Mitchel asked.

Of course, America may be the land of the free, but leaving it isn’t necessarily cheap: Those who renounce their citizenship could be subject to an exit tax on all of their assets around the world, as if they had sold everything on their last day as an American. Even with a nearly $700,000 exemption, the bill can be hefty, Mitchel said.

The IRS publishes very little data about its former citizens beyond their names, so it’s difficult to tell conclusively whether the new tax laws are the reason that so many Americans have been relinquishing their passports. But the timing of its implementation seems to coincide with the increase in expatriation. And there appears to be widespread recognition that the new reporting requirements have amounted to one giant headache for all involved — including the U.S. government.

“That mountain of data not only puts burdens on the individuals trying to comply, but that also puts a large burden on the IRS to go through the data,” said W. Gavin Ekins, a research economist at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. “The cost of actually finding a dollar of tax evasion may cost us $5 of actually sifting through the data and compliance costs. From an economics point of view, I’m not sure how valuable the system will be. But maybe it really is from a fairness point of view, and people really believe fairness is worth the cost.”

Article from the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/01/why-americans-are-giving-up-citizenship-in-record-numbers/

Rugged Cargo Hauler for the Survivalist

This article came across the Defense News site and it looks like the military is getting smarter about vehicle procurement putting dollars to buy these versatile vehicles. 

I could not find a picture on thew web about the newest vehicle in the pipeline, called the Maintenance and Cargo Hauler MACH-2/MACH 2XL manufactured by John Deere, however the picture at above is the current John Deere Gator designated as the M-Gator A1 which has performed well overseas carrying cargo up mountains where the air is too thin for helicopters to fly with substantial loads. 

The M-Gator A1 has a 208 HP Diesel engine that can transport 1650 lbs of gear. The rack in front is actually designated as a litter rack to carry wounded soldiers out, but could easily be used for about anything. 

I have many hours in a John Deere commercial Gator and can attest to the reliability and utility of these vehicles. Not the answer to every survivalist's needs, but does offer a unique capability.

The Defense News article:

Small, rugged multi-purpose vehicles at the AUSA show are equipped with new features but carry a familiar leaping-deer logo.

Visitors to the John Deere pavilion at the exhibition hall might expect to see big green machines that are more at home on the farm than on the battlefield.

What you see instead are three tan vehicles shorter than an F-150 pickup that can haul cargo, carry soldiers and maneuver in austere environments.

“People think of John Deere as the yellow and green stuff,” said Todd Halstead, manager of the Military Utility Business for John Deere. “We are definitely more than just the yellow and green stuff.”

The newest of the vehicles is a Maintenance and Cargo Hauler MACH-2/MACH 2XL , developed in association with International Automated Systems, that can be transported by the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

That capability is a new innovation in which the bars over the passenger area reconfigure to sit within that space to keep the vehicle low profile at 60 inches high.

The vehicle’s long- and short-bed variations can be configured variously according to the Army’s needs, Halstead said. For example, soldiers have expressed an interest in a fire suppression capability, he said.

The MACH 2/2XL weight is about 2,200 pounds, and payload capacity is nearly 1,200 pounds. Cargo bed capacity is nearly 770 pounds.

To make the vehicle more versatile for mission requirements, an all-terrain trailer can expand cargo capacity, using a trailer tongue that swivels 360 degrees to deal with rugged terrain and prevent problems with decoupling. Up to four trailers can be hauled behind one of the vehicles.

The original MACH is a program of record used by the U.S. Army now, Halstead said, and the MACH 2/2XL are available for consideration by the Army.

Urban Man........

Importance of Owning Silver

This is the message I received from Lear Capital through the American Patriot Daily Net:

Dear Investor, Right now there is very exciting news in the silver market. The largest investment bank in the country today is JP Morgan Chase & Co. In 2012, they held 5 million ounces of silver in their corporate account. However, recent reports have revealed that JP Morgan Chase now holds a staggering 55 million ounces of silver! That’s an increase of tenfold. Just last year, JP Morgan Chase purchased 8 million ounces. That’s a lot of silver for anyone to buy-even an investment giant like JP Morgan Chase. What could they possibly know about silver that we don’t?

Let me tell you what JP Morgan Chase’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, said in a letter to his shareholders, “Some things never change - there ‘WILL BE’ another crisis, and its ‘IMPACT’ will be felt throughout financial markets.“ So here we are. The CEO of the country’s largest bank is telling his shareholders - THERE WILL BE another crisis - and to protect shareholder value, they are buying silver by the hundreds of tons.

Don’t you think it’s time that you consider owning physical silver?

Need another reason?

$21 an ounce. That’s the all-in production cost it takes the average mine to process one ounce of silver. Right now silver is trading just below that threshold.

The last time you could purchase silver below its production costs was 2002. Guess who famously bought 30% of the world’s above ground silver supply back then?

Warren Buffett. Two years later, he doubled his money. So, JP Morgan Chase & Warren Buffett, two of the most successful investors on the planet, both stocked up on silver at a price below production cost. Buffett bought right before a crisis happened. JP Morgan is buying right before what they think will be another financial crisis.

Stocks are at record highs. Debt is soaring. Uncertainty in the world is at historic levels. Silver is on sale right now and JP Morgan Chase knows it-just like Warren Buffett knew it in 2002. Now that you know it, will you let this opportunity pass you by?

Okay, you don't have to get the free investor kit,.......I won't because I don't need it. I routinely buy silver, both in one ounce rounds and bars, and five ounce bars, plus junk silver coins as well.

Silver prices have dropped a little from the 2016 high in August and are currently (13 October 2016) sitting at $17.55 an ounce. We're not buying Silver so we can sell and make a few bucks per ounce profit waiting for the high to climb a a little,.....we're buying Silver as a hedge against the collapse where fiat currency won't be worth anything but precious metals will be used in barter. And if this country comes back, maybe we'l have learned our lesson and have a gold based currency. In the this coming election, which appears that the corrupt Hilary Clinton will win, the Market is going to have major issues, major losses and Gold/Silver prices will climb. Don't wait too long now. Practically everyone can afford to buy one or more 1 ounce rounds every payday - just think of it as re-directional spending.

But just don;t take my word for it, Reagan Budget Director David Stockman warns that the nation will plunge into a recession, even though Hillary Clinton will win the presidential election. "When the stock market stumbles and the economy begins to actually register negative growth, which I think is coming if not next quarter certainly in the first half of next year, there's going to be nothing below and the market is going to go through a massive contraction," said Stockman. "I think it's going to be a very nasty time in the year ahead," he added.

Secret Seed Storehouse

[Article is from the Washington Post]

The secret storehouse of seeds that might save humans from the apocalypse

If you’re already familiar with the Global Seed Vault and understand the crucial role it might play in the future of humanity, you can think of Cary Fowler’s new book as a beautiful coffee-table ornament — with the bonus of lots of informative, readable text.

If you’ve never heard of the vault, “Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault”.can be your introduction to an extraordinary, farsighted venture.

The Global Seed Vault is a vast storehouse carved out of rock and ice on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, far north of the Arctic Circle. In it are half a billion seeds from around the world.

More important, it contains the traits found within the seeds: the genes that make one crop resistant to pests or enable another survive drought. The vault is meant to safeguard humanity against losing vital food stocks to extinction, natural disaster, nuclear war or climate change.

Fowler — a native of rural Tennessee who was trained as a sociologist and has worked for decades on behalf of global biodiversity — led the initial effort to create the seed vault and clearly sees this book as a summary of his life’s work. 

Besides the science involved in selecting and preserving seeds, he gives a fascinating account of the creation of the vault itself — selecting Svalbard because it was both geologically and politically stable, and offered year-round underground permafrost that could cheaply keep the seeds frozen; and the decision to design the wedge-shaped part of the vault that protrudes above the ice sheet so that it looked sculptural, a sort of work of art.

He notes the irony of preserving the future of edible plants in a region where virtually nothing grows. The book is illustrated with hundreds of photographs of the vault and the stunning Arctic environment in which it’s located.

And that is the only way you’re likely to see the vault, except through binoculars from the airport tower at the nearby town of Longyearbyen. Security is vital to the project, and visitors (except for seed donor organizations and the occasional diplomat or benefactor) are not allowed in.

Urban Man's Comment: Everyone reading this article should have their collection of seeds. I have a robust supply of both non-hybrid and hybrid seeds. I continually buy hybrid seeds at garden and hardware stores, spending just a few bucks at a time and now I have several ammunition cans full of them.

They will be initially be what I plant at my bug in location and also used for trading material. I would continue to use hybrid seeds at other temporary locations. I am saving the non-hybrid seeds for a final location or suitable site where I can harvest the seeds from these plants - don't want to waste them don't you know.